The Dark Past
by Bani
Summary: A girl named Elaine finds out something dark and horrible about her past. She goes on a mission to find out the truth but learns it isn't easy because the truth can be a dangerous thing
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1 It was dark. Elaine saw silvery webs stretched out in front of her. And then she heard it. There was a shriek ringing in her ears, the same shriek she had heard every other night. Elaine cupped her hands over her ears. It felt like it was piercing through her brain. Her head was searing with pain and she thought it would burst. The only thing she could think of was to run. She ran through the webs as fast as she could. She could feel the person, or whatever it was catching up to her. She stopped abruptly for the webs turned into trees and there was a forest awaiting her. There was a loud crash behind her, as though someone had just dropped twenty dinner plates. She couldn't force herself to look back so she ran towards the forest. Now the screaming had turned into very loud breathing. The thing was so close by, she could feel wind trickling the back of her neck. She ran into the forest.  
Elaine tripped over a root and fell hard on the damp earth. Her whole body was aching in pain and she saw a dark red fluid flowing from the cut in her elbow. Holding it, she tried to get up; but the pain was holding her down. It's all over, she thought, whatever it is; it will get me any minute now. She dared not to look back. Her eyes started to get blurry and she closed them and felt a hot tear trickle down her cheek. And then she felt a harsh chilly wind hit her and she went flying three feet ahead. She hit the ground hard and her body was aching so much, she wanted to just give up. She looked up and saw a doll sitting on the ground in front of her. She found it unusual, why would a doll be in the middle of a forest? And as any human being would, after being taken over by curiosity, Elaine reached out and grabbed it. It was a doll made of cheap fabric and it had knots of red yarn for hair. A heart-shaped locket hung from its neck. And here, she felt that she knew the doll, and yet she didn't. And right then, a hand from behind her reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She let out a scream.  
And this was when a girl named Elaine, woke up sweating from fear, in her bed on her sixteenth birthday. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Elaine turned on her light and looked around. She only found the familiar room around her. The light pink walls, the posters of her favorite actors, the flower-shaped carpet, the dresser with her small but most special possessions and her bed, in which she was so cozy, were all in the right place. "It was only a dream, a horrible dream." she whispered to herself. She glanced at her mirror and saw a bright face with big, sparkling brown eyes and waves of blackish brown curls falling down to her thighs, staring back at her. She smiled to herself, for she was turning sixteen that day. She glanced at the clock, and surprised that it was already nine o'clock, she got out of bed, slipped into her fuzzy pink slippers and walked out of the room. As she walked down the stairs, she remembered her aunt telling her abouther first birthday, when her parents had given her a drawing kit, and she had sat on the stairs and scribbled all over her paper all day. Now her parents were dead, they had been in a car accident, her aunt had told her. Her mother's only sister, the only relative she knew, had raised her since then. And she did a very good job too, for Elaine thought of her as the mother that she had lost. She walked into the kitchen. "Good morning, sweetheart," her aunt said to her as she gave her a hug, "Happy birthday." For some reason Elaine found her voice to be quivery, and somewhat scared. She scanned her aunt's face, looking for any sign of fear, but she had looked away. Elaine sat down at the table, helping herself some of the pile of pancakes sitting on a plate. When she had finished she got up and put her dishes in the sink. She was about to step out of the room when her aunt spoke. "Elaine, dear. I need to talk to you about something very important that I wanted to tell you when you were sixteen. I can't hold it in any longer. Elaine, please, sit down." Elaine, watching her aunt curiously, took a seat. "What is it?" she asked slowly. "Oh, Elaine," her aunt said through sobs. "Aunt Judy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Elaine asked. Aunt Judy closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them. "Elaine, your parents didn't die in a car accident." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
The words hit Elaine hard, as though someone had just smacked her in the chest. She just stood there, staring blankly at her aunt. They both stood it silence, each waiting for the other to speak. Aunt Judy was examining Elaine's face, for any sign of expression, but there was none. Elaine just stood staring and Aunt Judy started to grow impatient.  
Finally, Elaine broke the silence. "Then where are they?" she whispered, almost to herself.  
Aunt Judy's face looked very pale, and her lips were trembling, as though she were afraid to speak. "They were m-m-murdered." she said and burst into tears.  
Elaine just stood there in shock unable to move or speak.  
"Come with me." her aunt said through sobs and grabbed Elaine's arm. She led Elaine up the stairs and down to her own bedroom. She threw open the door. Elaine looked into the room, which was painted light yellow and contained a bed, a dresser and a separate desk. Aunt Judy released Elaine's arm and ran over to the desk in the corner of the room. She opened the last drawer, which Elaine saw was empty, except for a box. Her aunt grabbed it and threw it onto the bed. Then she went to her dresser and started digging through her jewelry. Elaine sat on the bed and examined the box. It looked as though it were ancient. It was a dark red with gold and green designs painted on it. Her eye caught a glimpse of a lock, holding the box shut. She looked around to her aunt, who now held up a key. Aunt Judy was taking deep breaths, as if she were scared of whatever was in the box. She pushed the key into the lock and turned it. When she heard a click, she pulled it out and took off the lock. Elaine noticed how carefully and slowly she was doing this, almost like she could damage the box. She lifted the lid and pulled out a chain from which hung a gold heart- shaped locket, the same locket that had hung from the doll's neck in Elaine's dream. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
The locket, Elaine thought, that was the locket in my dream, why is it here? She looked up at her aunt, who was still crying.  
"I think you need an explanation," Aunt Judy said, "You deserve one. The parents that you know about weren't really your birthparents. You were born to someone else, who didn't seem to care much for you and put you up for adoption. Your mother and father couldn't have children and they always dreamed of having a little girl. So, after much thought, they adopted you. They gave you all their love, and raised you as if you were their real child, well of course, you were now that they had adopted you. Everything went so well, until the day after you turned one. Your birthmother showed up."  
"My what? She showed up? What did she say?" Elaine was growing angry now.  
"Sweetie, she said that she was your real mother and that she should be the one raising you. She said that she was taking you to your real home, and she wasn't going to let your parents stop her. Your parents were of course shocked and very upset. They told her that they were going to keep you, that you were theirs now. They told her that she shouldn't have put you up for adoption and that it was too late. Then, she left.  
"She left? That was it? She actually listened?" Elaine asked.  
"I wish she would have listened, but I'm afraid it didn't. You see, she came back the next week, asking for you again. Your parents declined again, and she was furious. She threatened them that if they didn't give you up, she would do something awful. Your parents wouldn't listen, but they got scared of what she would do when they didn't hear from her for two months."  
"She killed my parents?" Elaine said a tear trickling down her cheek.  
Aunt Judy looked at Elaine and spoke in a deep voice, "She killed herself." 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Elaine gasped. "She killed herself?" repeating what her aunt had said almost disbelievingly. "Why" she asked turning to her aunt.  
"I don't know and I don't think anybody does but I do know one thing. I know that your parents felt horrible. When they found out from someone, they felt that they had killed a woman who just wanted her child back. They wouldn't eat or sleep for days. I tried to talk to them, but they just wouldn't speak. After a few weeks, they were eating normally again and they were trying to forget what had happened. I'm afraid they couldn't though. And two months later, I came home from work and found them lying on the floor, dead. Blood was next to their bodies. I was so scared. I tried to check their pulse, to see if they were still alive, and I found this chain and locket, on the floor next to them." Aunt Judy cupped her hand over her mouth and started crying again.  
"I called the police, but for some reason, something told me not to give them the locket. So, I kept it in this box, and I left it in my drawer. This is the first time I'm opening it since then." Aunt Judy said still weeping.  
"Then who killed them?" Elaine whispered.  
"That I don't know, because the police were unable to find out." Aunt Judy said. She blew her nose on a tissue.  
"Here," she said reaching for a brown worn-out book with the title "Margaret's Diary" written neatly on the cover. "This was your mother's diary. I just couldn't bring myself to read it. I thought I'd give it to you so you could know what your mother was like." Aunt Judy kissed Elaine on the cheek. "I'm late for work. I better leave. I love you. Take care of yourself now, okay. Bye." She got up and walked out of the room.  
"Elaine opened the diary to the middle, and a paper fell out. She picked it up, opened it and read the note. It was written in red ink and it read, 'This is your last warning.' Elaine suddenly realized something, gasped and dropped the letter. The message was written in blood. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
What could this mean? Was this a threat to my parents? Elaine thought. Elaine picked up the diary and flipped the page. She immediately forgot about the note, for she saw pictures of her and her parents in the diary. As she flipped the pages, she forgot about the fact that her parents were dead, and the pictures brought to her memories that she had never had. She looked at a photograph of her on a slide in the park in which her father was holding her hand. Elaine felt, as though she remembered it, the memory was so vivid now. Her mother was at the bottom laughing and waving at her, holding a camera and her father stood by her side, holding her hand. Just then, she heard a ring and the memory shattered into pieces and drifted away. It was the telephone. She walked down to the phone by the dresser and picked it up. "Hello?" she spoke into it, "Hello?" There was no answer. "Hello?" she asked once more. Still, there was no answer. She shrugged and was about to put it down, when she heard someone speak. "Elaine?" said the voice. "Elaine?" Elaine didn't recognize the voice. It's probably some relative I've never met before, she thought. The voice was soft and somewhat quiet, whoever it was sounded as if they were whispering. "Hello? Who is this?" Elaine asked politely. "Elaine, E. Elaine," the voice stammered. "This is your mother." 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
Elaine froze. The telephone fell from her hand and hit the floor with a crash. She stood there, so still, afraid to move. Could this be my mother, she thought. She reached down to pick up the phone, her hand shaking violently. She grabbed it, and held it to her ear.  
"Elaine? Elaine? Hello? Elaine, are you there? Elaine its your mother, Elaine why don't you talk?" said the voice.  
Elaine's voice started to quiver; she turned off the phone and threw it across the room. She began to cry. The voice wouldn't leave her ears. She got up and ran for the door. She turned the knob and ran down the stairs. She opened the front door, stepped out and slammed it shut behind her. Then, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a silver key and locked the door. Elaine took deep breaths as she turned around and sank to the steps beneath her. She opened her eyes and looked around. The same friendly neighborhood stood before her, the fall leaves softly rustling on the ground. She looked to her left, and saw that the mail had come. It was lying in the mailbox next to her. She saw a cardboard box sitting on the step, next to the railing. Somebody must have sent me a birthday present, Elaine thought as she picked it up. She turned it over and looked at the sides. There was no address or return address written on it. It was all blank. She ripped off the tape and lifted the lid. And right when she took a look inside, she screamed. In the box, there it sat staring back up at her, the same face with the same knots of red yarn for hair. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
"The doll." Elaine whispered to herself, "What is it doing here?" She took her hand out of her pocket and slowly extended it to the box. Her palm was sweaty and she hesitated before touching the doll sitting quietly in the box. She was afraid to touch it, like something would happen if she did. Elaine put her hand on the doll and pulled it out of the box. She held it in her hand. Elaine examined it and frowned. There was something wrong with it, something that made a chill go up her spine. She looked at it carefully, not sure what was out of place. She looked into the doll's eyes; they looked so familiar. Then, Elaine's eyes fell back to the box. There was a piece of paper inside. She took it out and flipped it over. There was writing on the back. She didn't recognize the handwriting, so she read the note:  
  
"A rabbit lies by a pond, Looking at its reflection, Inside it sees, Its friend the squirrel, Running towards him.  
  
He is glad, for he loves his friend And smiles to himself, turns around, And the squirrel is nowhere to be found.  
  
Instead there stands the big mean wolf, Holding rabbit's tail, He screams and screams, But he is caught, And finished by the wolf.  
  
For wolf is wolf And not what he seems For wolf is not the squirrel."  
  
What is this supposed to mean? Elaine thought and turned to the doll again. Suddenly it hit her, and she gasped. The doll looked just like her mother. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
"Oh my gosh," Elaine whispered out loud. "I knew it looked familiar." But maybe it's just a coincidence, she thought as she turned back to the note that she clutched in her right hand. What could it mean? She thought, was it some kind of code? She read through the note again and flipped it over. It made no sense to her so she folded it up and stuffed it in her pocket. She sat there, as the wind whipped at her face and blew her hair onto her face. She sat and closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of fall.  
"Elaine? Elaine? Elaine Johnson?: Elaine!" said a voice from the back of her head. She opened her eyes and jumped in her seat. "You scared me," she said to the small and thin girl that stood before her.  
  
"Sorry, El." Said the girl. She sat herself next to Elaine and handed her a box. "Happy Birthday!" "Thanks," Elaine said hugging the girl. This girl was Elaine's best friend, Katie. She knew her since she was five and they told each other everything. "Katie, you won't believe what happened to me today." "What?" said Katie eagerly, pushing back her short blond hair. After Elaine told Katie about her day, Katie looked at her, wide-eyed. Elaine showed her the doll and the note, and Katie read the note silently. Then, she stared at the doll. "This, this looks like," she began. "I know, my mother." Elaine said, finishing the horrible sentence. They sat in silence staring at the note and the doll. "Do you think," Katie began, breaking the silence, "Do you think that she's alive?" Elaine shrugged and shook her head as she stared into the eyes of the doll. Her eyes caught sight of something on the doll's right foot, and she picked it up. On the bottom of the shoe, written neatly in black marker, were the letters M.J. M.J.? she thought. Then it came to her. M.J. stood for Margaret Johnson, her mother. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
"Margaret Johnson," said Elaine nudging Katie, "I wasn't just seeing things, this does look like my mother. M.J. stands for Margaret Johnson!" she exclaimed.  
Katie sat silent for a minute and then looked in Elaine's scared eyes and said, "Do you think she sent it?" Katie did not need to refer to who she was talking about, Elaine understood.  
  
*  
  
That night, when Aunt Judy came home with the cake, Elaine hugged her and decided to wait before she told her aunt everything that had happed to her that day. Elaine sat and thought as she licked the icing off her spoon. Some birthday! , she thought, My life is ruined. What am I going to do?  
Aunt Judy walked in and sat next to her. "What's wrong, sweetie?", she asked Elaine.  
"You don't want to know, my birthday's ruined." Elaine replied.  
"What's wrong? Tell me honey." Aunt Judy said putting her arm around Elaine.  
Elaine took a deep breath and told her story to her aunt, who listened silently. "I think. I think my mom's alive." Elaine whispered.  
"WHAT?!" said her aunt angrily, standing up, as her plate fell with a crash onto the floor and broke into pieces. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
Elaine jumped in her seat and covered her ears at the crash of the plate as it fell and broke into pieces. She looked up at her aunt, surprised at her reaction. After a pause, Aunt Judy started to cry. "How could she? IS she really, Elaine, is she?" Aunt Judy said through sobs.  
Elaine sat back in the sofa and thought. Something was wrong. "But then, how was she dead when you saw her on the floor, remember? Even the police said she was dead. Then how is she alive? That makes no sense." Elaine asked her aunt.  
Aunt Judy looked at the ground. "Elaine, Elaine, I didn't tell you the whole story. But I didn't want you to get scared. Elaine, promise me you won't be." Aunt Judy said in a worried tone. "What happened?" Elaine asked. "After your birthmother's death, I came home one day and they were gone. I waited so long, they never came home. That night, I got a phone call. There was a man and a woman, I don't know who they were, but they told me that they had your parents. They told me that I would never see them again. They gave the phone to your mother and she tried to tell me where she was. They probably realized what she was doing, and I heard a shot in the phone and then I heard her scream. Then, I heard another shot and your father was killed. They told me to turn you over to them, but I told them that I would never let you go. They told me that when you turned sixteen, your life would." Aunt Judy stopped in the middle of the sentence. She stared at Elaine. "They told me that-that your life would be in danger and sixteen days later, you would, you would-" "I would what?" Elaine said angrily, standing up Aunt Judy paused and said in a voice Elaine had never heard her use before, "You would die." 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
Elaine stared wide-eyed at her aunt, breathing hard. "They're going to kill me?" she said in a scared voice. "No, they not. I'm not going to let them even touch you." Aunt Judy said, trying to console her. "But that still doesn't explain about my mother." Elaine said as she wiped the hot tears on her cheeks. "Yes it does, honey. She could be alive. I don't know if she really did get shot. They could have faked it and made it seen like that." Aunt Judy replied. Suddenly, they heard a bell. It was the clock. Elaine glanced at the time. It was midnight. "Honey, you better go to bed." said Aunt Judy, standing up. Elaine was about to leave the room when her aunt grabbed her arm. "Sweetie, don't think about it. Nothing is going to happen, okay? I'm here for you." she said smiling sweetly. Elaine tried to force a smile, and nodded. She left the room, and started off to her room. She opened her door, slipped into her pajamas, and got into her bed. She laid down and closed her eyes. She opened them again, for something was bothering her. There's something wrong, she thought, something doesn't fit into the picture. She thought about the whole day. What was it?, she thought, I don't know, maybe it's nothing, I'm just overreacting. She closed her eyes. And then it came to her. She sat up, her eyes wide. There was something missing, something that didn't fit into the story, the locket. 


End file.
